Editing Pension (section)

===United Kingdom===
{{Main|Pensions in the United Kingdom}}
{{See also|English Poor Laws|Timeline of pensions in the United Kingdom}}
[[File:Leeds public sector pensions strike in November 2011 14.jpg|thumb|Public sector workers in [[Leeds]] striking over pension changes by the government in November 2011]]
The decline of Feudal systems and formation of national states throughout Europe led to the reemergence of standing armies with their allegiances to states. Consequently, the sixteenth century in England marked the establishment of standardised systems of military pensions. During its 1592–93 session, Parliament established disability payments or "reliefe for Souldiours ... [who] adventured their lives and lost their limbs or disabled their bodies" in the service of the Crown. This pension was again generous by contemporary standards, even though annual pensions were not to exceed ten pounds for "private soldiers", or twenty pounds for a "lieutenant".<ref name="auto3"/>
 
The beginning of the modern state pension came with the [[Old Age Pensions Act 1908]], that provided 5 shillings (£0.25) a week for those over 70 whose annual means do not exceed £31.50. It coincided with the [[Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress 1905-09]] and was the first step in the [[Liberal welfare reforms]] to the completion of a system of social security, with unemployment and health insurance through the [[National Insurance Act 1911]].

In 1921, The Finance Act introduced tax relief on pension contributions in line with savings and life insurance. As a consequence, the overall size of the fund was increased since the income tax was now added to the pension as well.<ref name="auto5">{{Cite web |title=The Pension Timeline - complete history of pensions |date=22 February 2023 |url=https://pensionaccess.co.uk/pensions/the-pension-timeline/}}</ref>

Then in 1978, The [[State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme]] (SERPS) replaced The Graduated Pension Scheme from 1959, providing a pension related to earnings, in addition to the basic state pension. Employees and employers had the possibility to contribute to it between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 2002, when it was replaced by the [[State Second Pension]].

After the Second World War, the [[National Insurance Act 1946]] completed universal coverage of social security, introducing a State Pension for everybody on a contributory basis, with men being eligible at 65 and women at 60.<ref name="auto5"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fixmypension.com/2018/02/27/a-brief-history-of-pensions/|title=A Brief History of Pensions – Fix My Pension|date=27 February 2018 }}</ref> The [[National Assistance Act 1948]] ([[11 & 12 Geo. 6]]. c. 29) formally abolished the poor law, and gave a minimum income to those not paying National Insurance.

The early-1990s established the existing framework for state pensions in the [[Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992]] and Superannuation and other Funds (Validation) Act 1992. Following the highly respected [[Goode Report]], occupational pensions were covered by comprehensive statutes in the [[Pension Schemes Act 1993]] and the [[Pensions Act 1995]].

In 2002, the [[Pensions Commission]] was established as a cross-party body to review pensions in the United Kingdom. The first Act to follow was the [[Pensions Act 2004]] that updated regulation by replacing OPRA with the [[Pensions Regulator]] and relaxing the stringency of minimum funding requirements for pensions while ensuring protection for insolvent businesses. In a major update of the state pension, the [[Pensions Act 2007]], which aligned and raised retirement ages. Following that, the [[Pensions Act 2008]] has set up automatic enrolment for [[occupational pensions]], and a public competitor designed to be a low-cost and efficient fund manager, called the [[National Employment Savings Trust]] (or "Nest").